promptent in new york jets player would fumble after running into his team's ass. this has been mayan predictions stlat come true, a division of dow chemical. >> i can watch that over and over especially as a patriots fan. good morning. i'm brian schactman. this is a special end of the world edition of "way too early." thank you for being up with us today. we have a lot of news to talk about just in case the mayan calendar turns out to be wrong. plus, it's actually one of the busiest travel days of the year. right now a major blizzard is causing all sorts of trouble in the air and on the roads. we'll have a live report and the latest forecast in just a bit. but first, let's get to the news live at 5:30 a.m. here at 30 rock in new york city. with 11 days until the fiscal cliff deadline, the house of representatives has gone home for christmas. and negotiations are in absolute limbo right now. in a pretty embarrassing setback last night, house speaker john boehner pulled the plug on his

so-called plan b proposal that would have raised taxes on those making over $1 million. the republican-led house abruptly went on recess after boehner realized he just didn't have enough votes for the measure to pass. house majority leader eric cantor who assured earlier in the day that plan b would pass didn't have a whole thrott say last night. >> no vote tonight? >> no. >> will there be a vote tomorrow? >> nope. >> are you ditching plan b? will there be a vote today? >> no. >> a lot of nopes and then no answer when they asked if he was ditching plan b. republican congressman steve latourette was in the room when they called off the vote. >> led us in both the pledge and the prayer. he gave the serenity prayer. and then went to the microphone

and said there's going to be a short conference. we don't have the votes. as a result, we're not going to proceed. as a result, we're not going to be here and we're not going to be here until after christmas and maybe we don't come back at all this year. i hope you all have a merry christmas. >> was -- was there any pleas by any other members to encourage them to go along with this vote? >> no. i mean, we've been doing that for two years with these people. and all they -- they become martyrs. they become martyrs in the eyes of these extreme groups. >> other republicans see it just a little bit differently. congressman tim huelescamp of kansas put out a statement last night reading in part, quote, republican leadership thought they could silence conservatives when they kicked us off our committees. i'm glad that enough of my colleagues refused to back down after the threats and intimidation thus preventing the conference from abandoning our

principles. we'll talk to the congressman coming up a little bit later on "morning joe." meanwhile, senator harry reid blasted republicans for wasting time on something that democratically controlled senate had no intention of voting on anyway. >> we are not taking up any of the things that they are working on over there now. it's time for republicans to get serious. it's very, very, very unfortunate. the republicans have wasted an entire week on a number of pointless political stunts. and that's what they've been. it's obvious that the speaker working with his republican team can't get enough votes together to pass much of anything. >> late last night, the white house released the following statement. the president's main priority is to ensure that taxes do not go up on 98% of americans and 97% of small businesses in just a few short days. the president will work with congress to get this done and we are hopeful that we will be able to find a bipartisan solution

quickly that protects the middle class and our economy. we'll get a check on how the overseas markets are reacting to all of this coming up in just a few minutes. connecticut governor dan malloy has declared today a day of mourning in his state marking one week since the shootings in newtown. he's called for a statewide moment of silence at 9:30 a.m. and has asked churches and places of worship to ring their bells 26 times in honor of the sandy hook victims. on wall street, the nasdaq will also observe a moment of silence. about an hour later at 10:45 a.m. this morning, the national rifle association will hold its news conference outlining what it calls meaningful contributions to make sure something like this never happens again. the president's task force on reducing gun violence already getting to work. vice president joe biden met with cabinet members and law enforcement officials yesterday as he prepares to deliver recommendations to the president

no later than january. >> you know better than anyone what is needed out there and what, i think the public has learned about you is you have a much more wholistic view of how to deal with violence on our streets and in our country than you are ever given credit for. >> speaker boehner who has an a-rating from the nra took an open stance when asked about the white house task force. >> we join the president in mourning the victims of the horrible tragedy in connecticut. when the vice president's recommendations come forward, we'll certainly take them into consideration. but at this point, i think our hearts and souls ought to be to think about those victims. >> biden's team will also be looking into cultural issues like violent video games and movies. christopher dodd, the former connecticut senator and current chair of the motion picture association of america, says the film industry is, quote, ready

to be part of the national conversation, end quote. and today, president obama is expected to respond for the first time to that record-setting petition posted on the white house website. nearly 200,000 people have signed on calling for the administration to produce legislation that limits access to guns. now to the fallout from the attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi. at yesterday's hearing, senator john kerry who is widely expected to be nominated as the next secretary of state said congress should share some of the blame for what happened in libya. >> i want to be crystal clear about something else. congress also bears some responsibility here. congress has the power of the purse. >> for years, we have asked our state department to operate with increasingly lesser resources to conduct essential missions. and because of the gridlock and excesses in the senate and congress itself, we have not even been able to pursue the

regular order of authorizing legislation. adequately funding america's foreign policy objectives is not spending. it's investing. >> republican senator bob corker countered that the state department was notution its existing resources efficiently. >> secretary clinton just sent up a notification to congress asking for $1.3 billion. why did she never ask for any notification or change of resources to make sure benghazi was secure? >> we are in a situation where the middle east is evolving, democracies are growing. militaries are forming. and we must look at each and every one of those sites and every one of our posts and re-example under a new normal. >> you were aware of the security risks there. we've read the cables. you were fully aware. and either you send people there with security or you don't send them there. >> secretary of state hillary clinton missed yesterday's hearing, of course, as she's

still recovering from a concussion, but she is expected to testify about the attack in benghazi some time in january. another big story we're following today is that blizzard. absolutely pounding the central part of the country right now. much of the midwest digging out after being hit by heavy snow. now that weather system is now heading east just as millions of people, of course, are hitting the road and trying to fly for the holidays. that's a look at chicago right now where they have had lots of canceled flights. much more on the holiday forecast coming up in just a few minutes with bill karins. we have some other news. democrats have to find another candidate to take on chris christie next year. newark mayor cory booker announced yesterday he will not make a run for governor in 2013. perhaps due in footer christie's soaring approval ratings in the aftermath of hurricane sandy. booker says he's looking into running for senate in 2014 when 88-year-old frank lautenberg is expected to retire. but interestingly enough, lautenberg hasn't made any

decisions yet. his office dismissed booker's comments saying the senator is focused on his work adding it's not the time for political distractions. in a rare moment of bipartisanship, democrats and republicans came together yesterday to say farewell to hawaii's daniel inouye. the second longest serving senator in u.s. history. the army veteran who died on monday was honored by having his casket lie in state. that's a privilege that's only been received by 31 other americans ever. vice president joe biden paid tribute to his colleague. >> he was in every sense the quintessential american. he possessed, in my view, every virtue that we like to ascribe to our country. i never met a man, or woman, in that period with as much physical and moral courage as

danny inouye. i never met a man with as much loyalty to his country, to his family and to his friends. >> former senate majority leader bob dole came to the capitol to pay his respects. inouye and dole actually first met at a michigan army hospital while they were both recovering from wounds during world war ii. they went on, of course, to serve together in congress for over three decades. now to business where the fiscal cliff negotiations, of course, weighing on the global markets. stock futures took a big hit after house speaker john boehner failed to rally the republicans around his so-called plan b. earlier yesterday markets actually rallied led by bank of america and jpmorgan. for more on what to expect from wall street today, my good friend, cnbc's ross westgate. happy holidays, sir. >> hey, brian. happy holidays. good to see you before christmas, brian. yeah, we closed high yesterday, but with the events that you've talked about, republicans in the

end not holding that vote because john boehner couldn't muster enough votes to raise taxes on people earning over $1 million. futures took a bit of a dive. and right now, we're calling markets down here, the s&p down twre 20 points. there's concern now that boehner can't secure enough votes in the republicans to support whatever plan may come from the other side of the aisle. and there's been a lot of complacency going in for investors. they will eventually get a deal done. european markets are now down at the session lows. off about a percent for the ftse. similar for the german market and in paris as well. so eyes for these periods now around christmas squarely on washington as you might see. not much christmas cheer for research in motion either. this was a stock that was up towards after they came out with numbers better than expected. a narrow profit loss and they raised their cash. then they came up and said we're going to have to change our models on charging.

and so we're going to enhance fees, get people who use added security features. we're going to charge them fees. but those who don't want those added security features, they may generate no or lower revenue. and that got analysts very worried about the service revenues. so r.i.m. stock after hours down nearly 9% on that. we'll see how that goes through trade today. those two bits of news that we're watching in the united states over here. >> happy holidays to you and to charlotte and the family. i anchored cnbc show with ross for over a year and a half. good to see him. let us know why you're awake. shoot us an e-mail at way too early@msnbc.com or tweet m me @bshactman. there's now speculation michael vick may be jetting to new york as gang green reportedly looks to dump both mark sanchez and tim tebow. but is there another high-priced turnover prone qb really what

they need? plus, millions of americans hitting the road for the holidays just as a big blizzard rolls across the country. we'll check on the forecast as well when "way too early" comes right back. pan am flight 103 was at 31,000 feet and just 52 minutes into its flight when air traffic controllers suddenly lost contact. a short time later, the 747 crashed into a scottish village and exploded in a ball of flames. there were 258 people on board. i love how clean and healthy my mouth is right now.

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nasty, although if it hold ups, maybe it will be nice for a white christmas. if you don't have four-wheel drive, folks, be staying home. obviously, a lot of weather dealing with in the middle part of the country headed toward the north and the east. but i am not a meteorologist. that's what they say bill karins is. >> i play one on tv. >> a live look at rockefeller plaza. i live practically in pennsylvania. i drove all the way in today and was hydroplaning all over the place thinking this would be nice if it was snow, but not snow. >> no snow. all rain. high winds, damaging winds. it's one of those mornings that if you took today off, you chose wisely because if you have to travel this morning in new jersey, connecticut, southern new york, and eventually up toward the boston area, it's not going to be fun. it's not icy. it's not snow. the winds gusting up to 50 to 60 miles per hour in heavy rain. the hydroplaning, hands on the wheel-type weather. you can only imagine what the airports will be like once they open up this morning from philadelphia and new york city northwards. d.c. should be okay.

as far as the snow goes, we start dealing with that. it's snowing pretty hard this morning. the kids will be excited in areas of indiana and southern ohio and the mountainous areas of west virginia and kentucky. and up in michigan, numerous areas of snow. as far as the big cities go with the heavy rain threat, with the strong gusty winds, from now until about 11:00 is when the strongest winds will be moving through philadelphia, new york city, newark and then up into connecticut. so we're going to get the damage winds and the worst of it from now until 11:00 a.m. then the rain will be gone and it will just be windy the rest of the afternoon. highest wind gusts toward louisville and indianapolis. we're waiting for the highest winds around the tri-state in new jersey, new york and connecticut. western new york will get some snow. that's mostly lake enhanced snow on the back side of this storm later on today into tonight. tomorrow, new york state throughway will be rough and driving through west virginia will be tough.

today, by far, hands down, the worst of the travel weather. the worst airport delays. if you can avoid traveling today, do so with ease as we go throughout your saturday and your sunday. much of the country looks just fine throughout the next couple of days. i know it's a rainy, ugly morning in new england. there is a chance for some light snow to move through christmas eve night and waking up christmas morning to a nice little white coating on the ground. so just keep that in mind for anyone that's really disappointed about no white christmas in new england. we're not done yet. >> we'll keep our fingers crossed. we've got some sports to talk about. the jets may be ready to replace mark sanchez with a high-priced turnover prone michael vick. the "new york daily news" reporting vick who was expected to be released by the eagles at the end of the season would be open to joining the jets if sanchez is no longer with the team. vick lost his starting job in philadelphia this year but according to a team source, head coach rex ryan loves the idea of

bringing vick to the jets. he comes with a big price tag and a penchant for giving the ball to the other team. vick turned over the ball 14 times in nine games this season and is guaranteed $16.5 million in base salary for the 2013 season. more news from the nfl where peyton mann ainmanning's speck comeback season isn't going unnoticed by the fans. he received almost a million pro bowl votes from the fans. too bad the game is irrelevant. manning has thrown 31 touchdowns this season and has already helped the broncos clinch the afc west title. joining manning among the top five vote-getters were tom brady, arian foster who bought his entire offensive line segways yesterday, which is funny to see it on the web if you want to see the video. adrian peterson and aaron rodgers. robert griffin iii got the sixth most votes with almost 700,000, tops for any rookie this season

which is pretty good considering andrew luck and russell wilson in seattle. many figures in the sports community have reached out to those affected by the tragedy in newtown, connecticut. titans running back chris johnson was among those who lent his support yesterday sending christmas gifts to the family of 7-year-old grace mcdonnell. johnson also spoke to mcdonnell's older brother jack on the phone and gave the family his phone number in case they needed help in the future. derek jeter called the mother of 27-year-old teacher victoria soto who was killed while protecting her first grade students. soto was such a fan of the yankees that it was mentioned as part of her eulogy. jeter did that without being prompted. he did it all on his own. the miami dolphins sent flowers in the memory of mary sherlach after learning she was an avid fan of that team. joe philbin said we just thought it would be the right thing to do. get a little bit of a lighter note coming up here next on the water cooler.

also coming up on "morning joe," congress heads home for the holidays without securing a deal to avoid what could be a devastating hit to the u.s. economy. "morning joe" crew will weigh in on why washington just can't seem to get its act together. and when we come back here, we have the water cooler. we'll share our last remaining moments on earth together before the mayan predictions of today's apocalypse come true. "way too early" coming right back. at least i hope so. ♪ but the fire is so delightful ♪ nothing melts away the cold like a hot, delicious bowl of chicken noodle soup from campbell's. ♪ let it snow, let it snow

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well, folks, the end of the world has come and for some reason, i'm still here. no, i'm not a hologram. i'm pretty confident the world is not coming to an end because donny deutsch would be on like some fancy remote island with a lot of nice sand and water and he's over there drinking an iced coffee. turns out all that talk about the mayan prediction that today's date marks the apocalypse has so far not expectly panned out. across the country, many gave in. michigan school officials closed more than 30 schools early because of the holiday break because of this. at the waverton hotel, they were celebrating at the mayan themed indoor waterpark. if you survived the end of the world there, the hotel will let you stay an extra night for only 50 bukd. that's half price off the already reduced rate. if you have more to spend you can party like there's no

to-maya at the curtis hotel in denver. you can rent out an entire floor for a cool $12,000. but the real party was further south in mexico where descendants of the mayans performed dance rituals late into the night. they celebrate the belief that today is simply the end of an era and the start of another. here's how one expert explained it last night on "nbc nightly news." >> their calendar keeps going way beyond 2012. this is the thing that no one quite understands. the ancient maya never predicted anything about an apocalypse. that's something that comes from our culture. in russia, president vladimir putin made his own doomsday prediction confidently telling reporters at a news conference yesterday that the world will actually come to an end in 4.5 billion years. because at that time, the sun burns out. at least according to putin. his prediction helped put senator john mccain's mind at

ease. the arizona republican tweeted yesterday, thanks, vlad. i can finally rest easy about tomorrow. now this is not the first time mccain and putin have sparred a little on twitter. mccain recently tweeted that putin would have his own arab spring to handle and putin has said that mccain is, quote, nuts. still ahead, why are you awake? your tweets, texts and e-mails and "morning joe" just moments away. try running four.ning a restaurant is hard, fortunately we've got ink. it gives us 5x the rewards on our internet, phone charges and cable, plus at office supply stores. rewards we put right back into our business. this is the only thing we've ever wanted to do and ink helps us do it. make your mark with ink from chase.